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Ava Holmes asks, how can elephants and people co-exist?

We are excited to welcome our new UW Environmental Studies intern, Ava Holmes, who asks, “How can we design conservation solutions that enable humans and African elephants to co-exist peacefully?” While ivory poaching is detrimental to elephants, humans, and other animals alike, popular media rarely addresses the complexity of why it continues. Through video-recorded interviews, Ava is exploring various perspectives on the conservation of African Elephants and creating media that dives deeper into the social dynamics around poaching. Interviewees are selected for their expertise and unique perspectives, ranging from an anthropologist working with indigenous tribes living in close corridors with elephants, to the director of a major conservation organization, to a prominent elephant researcher. Ava anticipates that understanding the human intentions surrounding elephant poaching and conservation is a pathway to solutions that better address both human and elephant needs. In her spare time, Ava blends a passion for elephants, conservation—and fashion!